SPONSOR OF HB 772:
House Representative Greg Morris, District 156
Born and raised in Vidalia, Georgia, Representative Greg Morris attended the Robert Toombs Christian Academy before pursuing Political Science Degree from the University of Georgia. The Businessman served his native county for three years as a Toombs County’s Commissioner. Representative Morris serves as a member on the following committees: Appropriations, Code Revision, Natural Resources, Environment, and Rules; He is the Chairman for Banks and Banking. Rep. Morris represents the communities in parts of Appling, Jeff Davis, Montgomery, and Toombs counties. He was sworn into office January 11, 1999.
Representative Greg Morris (Republican), District 156, was interviewed at his office at the State Capitol on February 10, 2014. Representative Morris was the only sponsor of HB 772, but Senator Don Balfour (R-9th) was the sponsor of the bill in the Senate. When asked why he (Rep. Morris) decided to sponsor HB 772, he stated, “I am here at the Capitol to do a job, and that job is to protect taxpayers’ dollars, and it is not right for drug abusers to use welfare benefits to buy drugs.” Representative Morris understands there is no evidence to support his claims, but he feels that if this bill was to pass legislation and enacted into law, then the evidence would be there to prove his claims. In his opinion, “if hard-working people have to drug-test for employment, then why can’t people on food stamps drug test for benefits?” In his opinion, he feels this bill might not have any problems passing because it is not an amendment but an addition to HB 861. However, he knows there is a possibility the bill will not make it very far, and if that is the case, he plans to “Christmas tree” the bill or reintroduce the bill the following session. As of April 29, 2014, HB 772 was signed by the Governor with an effective date of July 1, 2014.
Click here to go to Atlanta's NPR station 90.1FM to hear Representative Morris testimony on HB 772.
Representative Greg Morris (Republican), District 156, was interviewed at his office at the State Capitol on February 10, 2014. Representative Morris was the only sponsor of HB 772, but Senator Don Balfour (R-9th) was the sponsor of the bill in the Senate. When asked why he (Rep. Morris) decided to sponsor HB 772, he stated, “I am here at the Capitol to do a job, and that job is to protect taxpayers’ dollars, and it is not right for drug abusers to use welfare benefits to buy drugs.” Representative Morris understands there is no evidence to support his claims, but he feels that if this bill was to pass legislation and enacted into law, then the evidence would be there to prove his claims. In his opinion, “if hard-working people have to drug-test for employment, then why can’t people on food stamps drug test for benefits?” In his opinion, he feels this bill might not have any problems passing because it is not an amendment but an addition to HB 861. However, he knows there is a possibility the bill will not make it very far, and if that is the case, he plans to “Christmas tree” the bill or reintroduce the bill the following session. As of April 29, 2014, HB 772 was signed by the Governor with an effective date of July 1, 2014.
Click here to go to Atlanta's NPR station 90.1FM to hear Representative Morris testimony on HB 772.
MY LOCAL STATE LEGISLATORS:
House Representative Dar'Shun Kendrick, District 93
Representative Kendrick serves on the following committees: Interstate Cooperation, Judiciary Non-Civil, Juvenile Justice, and Small Business Development. She is the owner of Kendrick Law Practice, which is based in Lithonia, Georgia, and she practices in the area of business law exclusively. She is actively involved in the business community in DeKalb and Rockdale counties. Recently she has been working with Lithonia city council members and local business owners to revitalize the Lithonia Business Association. Additionally she works with the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce to service business owners and speak to local high schools, which she has also recently done for her alma mater, Towers High. She is a Member of the DeKalb Chamber, DeKalb Bar Association, Georgia Association of Black Woman Attorneys, and Decatur Business Association. She was sworn into office January 10, 2011.
Representative of District 93, Attorney Dar'Shun Kendrick (Democrat), was interviewed at Hope and Life Baptist Church in Gwinnett County on February 26, 2014. Representative Kendrick believes that HB 772 is unconstitutional, and that it serves no purpose. She stated, “There is no problem, there is no evidence to support this bill, therefore I will not vote for this bill.” She offered no solution, because she stated, “there is no problem."
Representative of District 93, Attorney Dar'Shun Kendrick (Democrat), was interviewed at Hope and Life Baptist Church in Gwinnett County on February 26, 2014. Representative Kendrick believes that HB 772 is unconstitutional, and that it serves no purpose. She stated, “There is no problem, there is no evidence to support this bill, therefore I will not vote for this bill.” She offered no solution, because she stated, “there is no problem."
Senator Gloria Butler, District 55
Senator Gloria Butler was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 1999 to represent District 55 in DeKalb County. She serves as Secretary of the Ethics and Urban Affairs Committee. She also serves as a member on the Health and Human Services, Public Safety, Rules, and State and Local Government Operations Committee. Sen. Butler was elected by her Democratic colleagues to serve as the Minority Caucus Vice-Chair. She is the chair of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators for region 6, which includes Florida and Georgia, Vice Chair of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus and Vice Chair of the Minority Caucus Finance Committee and is a MARTOC committee member. It is also important to note that she serves on the Child Fatality Review Panel under the aegis of the Child Advocate’s Office.
Senator Gloria Butler (Democrat) of District 55, was interviewed via email on March 21, 2014. Senator Gloria Butler (D-55th) voted against HB 772. She stated that, "there is a provision in the legislation that if a person tests positive for drugs and their food stamps are discontinued, if there are children in the household, another adult can be appointed to receive the allotment for these children. This provision was found to be unconstitutional the last time it was attempted so it probably will have little impact on families because it will not be able to be enforced." Overall, Senator Butler feels there is no existing problem, and she did not offer any solutions to a nonexistent problem.
Senator Gloria Butler (Democrat) of District 55, was interviewed via email on March 21, 2014. Senator Gloria Butler (D-55th) voted against HB 772. She stated that, "there is a provision in the legislation that if a person tests positive for drugs and their food stamps are discontinued, if there are children in the household, another adult can be appointed to receive the allotment for these children. This provision was found to be unconstitutional the last time it was attempted so it probably will have little impact on families because it will not be able to be enforced." Overall, Senator Butler feels there is no existing problem, and she did not offer any solutions to a nonexistent problem.
COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES:
House Representative B.J. Pak, District 108
In November 2010, B.J. was elected into the Georgia General Assembly. He is a former Federal Prosecutor and he is the first American of Korean descent to be elected into any State Legislature in the Southeastern United States. As State Representative, B.J. has served as a Deputy Majority Whip, as the Vice Chair of the Judiciary Non-Civil Committee, as Secretary of the Code Revision Committee, and serves as a member of the Health and Human Services Committee. He is also a member of the Ways and Means Committee, where he serves as the Vice Chair of the Income Tax subcommittee, and as a member of the Sales & Use Tax and Ad Valorem tax subcommittees.
Representative B.J. Pak (Republican) of District 108, was interview via third party March 18, 2014. Representative Pak voted in favor of HB 772. He stated that, "although there is no evidence to prove that there is actual problem, we must recognize the possibility that there is a problem in Georgia." He did not have any solutions to this invisible problem, but he feels once the bill is enacted there will be evidence of a problem, and then there can be "better solutions created to address them as they arise."
Representative B.J. Pak (Republican) of District 108, was interview via third party March 18, 2014. Representative Pak voted in favor of HB 772. He stated that, "although there is no evidence to prove that there is actual problem, we must recognize the possibility that there is a problem in Georgia." He did not have any solutions to this invisible problem, but he feels once the bill is enacted there will be evidence of a problem, and then there can be "better solutions created to address them as they arise."
Aisha, 22 year-old, mother of a one year old, and recipient of food stamps
Aisha is a 22-year-old woman, a mother of a one-year-old, and a food stamp recipient. Aisha works full-time making minimum wage, and she does not make enough to provide food for her and her daughter. She started receiving food stamps over 9 months ago, and she gets about $134 a month in food stamps. Aisha feels the monthly amount is not enough, especially trying to buy nutritional food, but it helps. In her opinion, she does not believe drug-testing people for illegal drugs based upon reasonable suspicion is fair treatment. She stated, “I’m ok providing drug tests for my job, because I’m paid to perform a job, but why should I prove I’m not on drugs just to feed my child. The stigma is bad enough, but to be viewed as a crack-head on top of it, is even harder.” She feels it should not matter if a person is an addict or not, because no one deserves to hungry.
Erica of DeKalb County DFCS Office
Erica is a caseworker at the DeKalb county DFCS office. She has been a caseworker at DFCS for over 4 years, but she does not have a social work degree. She obtained the job right after high school. From her experience, she feels the fraudulent activity happens internally. She has witnessed other caseworkers helping their friends obtain benefits although they do not qualify for benefits. Erica believes drug-testing applicants and recipients based upon reasonable suspicion will not work, because her office is already overwhelmed with cases. She believes if they based drug testing based off the applicant and recipients' demeanor then they will have to test everyone they encounter, which will be impossible. She does not agree with HB 772, and she hopes that Governor will not enact HB 772 into law.